1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the construction of a terminal or end portion of a flat conductor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prior art flat conductors include an FFC (flexible flat cable) and an FPC (flexible print circuit board). As shown in FIG. 7, an FFC 1 has a plurality of conductive paths 2 arranged in parallel with one another and sandwiched between insulation sheets 3 that are disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the conductive paths 2. The FFC 1 is flexible and has the shape of a ribbon. The FFC 1 may be used with a terminal fitting 4 that has a connection part 5 to be connected to a mating terminal fitting and a barrel 6 positioned rearward of the connection part 5. The barrel 6 of each terminal fitting 4 is crimped to a corresponding conductive path 2 to connect each terminal fitting 4 to a conductive path 2. Thus, the respective connection parts 5 project in parallel with each other from the terminal or end portion of the FFC 1. The terminal fittings 4 then are accommodated in cavities formed in a connector housing 7.
The terminal construction of the FFC is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-54720.
The connector housing 7 typically is constructed to accommodate the connection part 5 of the terminal fitting 4 and as much as possible of the remainder of the terminal fitting 4 in the longitudinal direction, including the barrel 6. The respective barrels 6 of the terminal fittings 4 are fixed to the terminals of the FFC 1 connected with one another in series. Thus, to accommodate the entirety of the terminal fitting 4 in the connector housing 7, it is necessary to form an escape opening 8 at the entrance to the cavity for fitting portions of the FFC 1. More particularly, the cavities must be joined into the single escaping opening 8 at least at the rear entrance to the cavities.
It is unnecessary to form an escape opening on a connector housing for terminal fittings that are mounted on the ends of conventional electric wires. Thus, it is necessary to prepare the connector housing 7 dedicated to the terminal fittings 4 connected to the terminal or end portion of the FFC 1.
The present invention has been completed in view of the above-described situation. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a terminal construction of a flat conductor that can be accommodated in a general-purpose connector housing.
The subject invention is directed to a construction of terminals or end portions of a flat conductor to be inserted into a connector housing. The connector housing is formed to include a plurality of cavities. Terminal fittings are connected individually to conductive paths disposed in an insulation sheet of the flat conductor and are fixed respectively to the terminals or end portions of the flat conductor. In this construction, portions of the flat conductor to be inserted into the cavity are formed separately from each other.
The terminals or end portions of the flat conductor preferably consist of a plurality of separate portions formed for each conductive path-disposing position. The terminal fittings are connected to the separate portions respectively.
The above described construction of a flat conductor and terminal fittings can be utilized with a general-purpose connector housing in which the cavities are formed individually and extend along the entire length of the terminal fitting. Thus, it is possible to accommodate the terminal fitting in each cavity. In addition, it is possible to use the connector housing for both the terminal fitting connected to the flat conductor and terminal fittings fixed to an ordinary covered electric wire.
It is also possible to use a short and compact terminal fitting.